MOVIE REVIEW
An Equation for Life?
By ABIGAIL K.
“Wouldn’t that be nice … One simple, elegant equation that explains everything.” This is Stephen Hawking’s self-proposed intention in The Theory of Everything, a movie celebrating perseverance against all odds, including life-threatening diseases and hard relationships.
Following a brilliant Cambridge student on his way to receiving a PhD in physics, The Theory of Everything relates the story of Stephen Hawking’s search for Truth, particularly as it relates to Time. Jane Wilde, a literature student also studying at Cambridge, soon becomes romantically involved in Stephen’s life, and the two embark on a bittersweet journey as they attempt to cope with Stephen’s physically debilitating motor neuron disease that he is diagnosed with at just twenty-one. Despite his disease, Stephen continues indefatigably to press the boundaries of human knowledge while Jane struggles to hold on to a normal life.
The movie offered a particular challenge in that many of the characters portrayed are still alive. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones held a distinct responsibility to deliver an accurate representation of Stephen and Jane. The entire cast settled into their roles with brilliance resulting in a lifelike retelling of Stephen and Jane’s story.
Depicting Stephen Hawking is Eddie Redmayne; with inspired acting, Redmayne successfully inhabits the character of the renowned physicist. He portrays Hawking’s personal and professional life with a studied ease that has already won him Hollywood’s best breakout performance award at the Hollywood Film Awards. Felicity Jones plays Stephen’s wife, Jane Wilde. She depicts Jane’s perseverance in caring for Stephen and their three children with an incredible raw emotion.
Acting alongside Redmayne and Jones are Charlie Cox and Maxine Peake. While at times their performances seem slightly over-affected, they succeed in providing strong foils to the main characters by aptly displaying the facets of a relationship that Stephen and Jane miss.
Sparse but aptly-timed moments of visual effects allow viewers a glimpse into Stephen’s brain as he jaunts from the Beginning to the End in seconds. In addition, the musical score by Jóhann Jóhannsson helps to amplify the emotional elements of the film.
A prominent theme in this movie is that every person can overcome the challenges at hand through perseverance. This is shown in Stephen’s life as despite suffering from a serious disease, he persists in his field and makes several breakthroughs. While this is admirable and inspiring, it creates the idea that humankind has only to persevere, and eventually it will be able to explain everything. This same theme is seen in Stephen and Jane’s relationship. They struggle through life with Stephen’s disease and the trials that entails with determination, and they try to do the best with what life puts before them. Tragically, the two end up having separate affairs and divorcing. Despite this, however, both are able to look at the long marriage they had and the offspring they produced knowing that they fulfilled their biological duty, and the movie closes on the happy thought that both Stephen and Jane are blissfully married, just not to one another.
The Theory of Everything is an inspiring movie celebrating human achievement and encouraging perseverance, yet it shows that, though it would indeed be “nice,” humankind on its own cannot overcome everything.
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